The Return of the Great Kaadini
by ROSSELLA1
Summary: After the first movie ends, Kaa goes looking for revenge and past events repeat themselves. Based off the Jungle Cubs episode, "The Great Kaadini" but with a twist.
1. Chapter 1

Ch1

By ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own the Jungle Books, the Jungle Book I-2, Jungle Cubs, or any of their characters. Takes place shortly after the Jungle Book I. Quotations in italics.

With a sigh, Bagheera trampled through the undergrowth. He was glad, of course, that Mowgli was safe in the man village, but after ten years of having the little one to look after and teach, the boy was sorely missed. A vine dropped down in front of him and he absentmindedly swatted it out of the way.

"Hey!" It hissed.

"Oh, sorry, Kaa." Bagheera said without bothering to stop.

"F-finally!"The snake hissed, triumphantly, and dropped down in front of Bagheera again. "I have been looking for you...sssss…Bagheera!"

"Oh, not now, Kaa." Bagheera moaned. "Mowgli's gone and I just want to-"

"You, do not command…. ssss….. me!" Kaa snapped, causing Bagheera's eyes to widen. "You losssst me my dinner!"

"Now, that's not-"

"And like I ssssaid, _you have…ssssealed your doom!"_ Bagheera closed his eyes. "No, no, no, _look me in the eye!_" Reluctantly Bagheera opened his eyes. "That'ssss right!" The panther's eyes took on a spiraled look. "Good." Kaa paused, contemplating the panther in front of him. He had never tried panther before and he _was_ hungry… but did he really want to harm his old friend? After all, knocking one's head against a tree was hardly a capital offense and Bagheera had saved him from far worse sufferings time and again while they were cubs…"Ssss…" Kaa continued, "now you will bring me ssssomething to eat….ssssomething big and tassssty…"

"Yes, Master." Bagheera intoned and sat there.

"Well, " Kaa snapped after a moment, "what are you waiting for! Go!"

"Yes, Master." And Bagheera leapt out of the tree.

…..

Shere Khan was sunning himself on a rock in his territory. Luckily, he had been able to get to the river before the fire had done too much damage. But it had singed his fur and given him some rather nasty burns on his hindquarters. Now he just wanted to lick his wounds in peace until a time when they were healed. Then, he could travel to the man village and wait until a time when the man child was unguarded and then…then! Well, the man cub would rue the day he had heard Shere Khan's name…

He was interrupted by a small stirring in the bushes. Letting out a low growl, he rose to his feet. Doubtless one of the inconsequential small animals in his territory had chosen the wrong day to get careless. But this was easy enough to take care of; just a nuisance really… He crouched down and was about to pounce, when he was bowled over by a black blur leaping into his face.

"SKROW!" The tiger shoved the large mass away and flipped back onto his feet, ready to eradicate his assailant. He relaxed and groaned when he saw who it was. "Oh, come now, Bagheera." SHere Khan sighed. "Surely we're too old for games and anyway, I hardly have the time. I - ROW!" He leapt back as the panther swiped at him. "Is this about that man cub? As you can see he did more damage to me than- oh no!" He whimpered as he caught sight of Bagheera's eyes. "Not again!" He darted out of the way, just in time to avoid another swipe. Would that snake never learn!

Thinking quickly, Khan positioned himself in front of a tree. Bagheera turned around and charged again and Shere Khan nimbly jumped out of the way in the nick of time. Bagheera went crashing into the tree and collapsed on the ground. The tiger waited a few seconds and when the panther didn't stir, Khan bent over his fallen frenemy. Out cold. With a satisfied smirk, Shere Khan dashed off in the other direction, towards Kaa's tree.

…..

Kaa smiled to himself as he heard leaves crunching in the surrounding area. By the sound of it, Bagheera was bringing back something really big! Hmm… an antelope? No, no, too big. A wolf? No, unless it was a small one, Bagheera couldn't have killed one of those so fast. Unable to stand the anticipation any longer, the python stuck his head through the branches.

"Oh, Bagheera?" He sang. "Masssster'ssss, getting tired of-Oh, SSSShere Khan. It'ssss you."

"Yes!" Khan hissed, leaping out of the bushes and wrapping his claw around the portion of the python's neck closest to the python's head. "It's me!"

"K-Kha-" Kaa choked out.

"I was sunning myself on a nice rock, nursing my wounds, and who should drop by but an old friend of ours. Do you know who that friend was?"

Kaa tried to reply but couldn't get enough air so Khan reluctantly released his grip. "Pah," Kaa spat, "ah-ah don' 'ow."

"Bagheera. And do you know why he came by?"

"I-I don' kno'." Kaa looked away. This wasn't good. "Why ah-"

"HE WAS TRYING TO HUNT ME!" Shere Khan roared.

"Uh, I-"

"HONESTLY, KAA, AFTER LAST TIME DIDN'T YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN?"

"Hey, the hypnotissssm'ssss going pretty-"  
>"DIDN'T YOU LEARN YOUR LESSON? LAST TIME YOU NEARLY GOT US ALL KILLED!"<p>

"B-b-but I wassss j-jusssst trying-" Kaa broke off as Shere Khan glared at him.

The tiger's voice lowered to a deadly almost whisper. "You are going to come with me and you are going to fix this."

"But I'm hungry!" Kaa protested.

"Then do what the rest of us do!" Khan snapped. "Hunt for yourself!"

"But I-" Kaa gulped as Khan held up a paw of unsheathed claws.

"Oh, alright." Kaa grumbled and slithered down the tree.

Shere Khan took off at a bound, leaving Kaa to have to scramble to keep up. "He's just through here, in the middle of- Oh, no!"

"What?" Kaa hissed, reaching the clearing moments after Shere Khan. The snake glanced around. "Where'ssss Bagheera?"

Shere Khan moaned. The clearing was now empty and the only sign that the panther had been there was the dent in the tree. "I don't know!"


	2. Chapter 2

Ch2

By ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own the Jungle Books, the Jungle Book I-2, Jungle Cubs, or any of their characters. Takes place shortly after the Jungle Book I. Quotations in italics.

"Dat, bat, duwa duwa duwa duwawawawawawa, eh lat!" Louie sang as he bounced around what was left of his palace.

The Bandar-log had scattered like mice did when Kaa was in the area. Baloo and Bagheera had taken that kid away. Now he had nothing to do but entertain himself. Humpfh, being an adult was no fun! Maybe he'd go and see whether he could make peace with Baloo. Baloo always had something fun to do. He hopped towards the exit only to see a black figure crouched down in front of it.

"Hey, Bagheera!" Louie exclaimed. "You're just in time! I was just about to go find Baloo. I was think- HEY!" Louie leapt out of the way just in time to avoid Bagheera's pounce. "What are you-" He jumped onto a pillar as the panther whirled around and went for the ape again. "Hey! Is this about that kid? I wasn't going to hurt him; I-" Bagheera shot forward again and this time narrowly missed Louie. "Baghie I-" Bagheera swiped at the orangutan. "Oh, forget it!" Louie exclaimed and leapt into the nearest tree. "You need help!" And with that, he swung away through the trees.

…..

"Ssss, look Sssshere Khan!" Kaa hissed. "I'm hungry and I don't have all day! Can't you-"

"Oh, quit whining." Khan snarled. "You have no one to blame but yourself." He put his nose near the ground. "Hmm… Bagheera's trail's gone cold. He must have taken to the trees."

"Oh well," Kaa sighed and turned around, "I guesssss there'ssss nothing we can do now; we sssshould jusssst-"

"Stop." Shere Khan commanded, holding Kaa in place with his paw. "I said Bagheera's trail ran cold. I can smell Baloo and Louie not too far from here."

"Sssso?"

"So, they might have seen him." The tiger rolled his eyes. "Come. I want this to be done with as soon as possible."

It was only a few minutes before the sound of voices reached Khan and Kaa's ears. "I'm telling you, partner! Bagheera had it in for me!"

Then a laugh. "Oh, not Baghie! He was probably just playin'!" Shere Khan and Kaa exchanged glances and pushed onward.

"No! He had his claws out and everything!"

"Ahem." Khan cleared his voice as the two approached Louie and Baloo. The bear sat up from his position against a rather tall tree and Louie dropped from the branch he was hanging on, to the ground.

"Now, Khanie," Baloo said warily, "we don't want no-"

"Relax, Baloo. We come in peace." Shere Khan held up a paw, making sure his claws were sheathed first. The two relaxed a bit. "I'm afraid Louie is correct; Bagheera was trying to kill him."

"I told ya'!" Louie exclaimed triumphantly.

"Now wait just a darn minute!" Baloo snapped. "Baghie would never do a thing like-"

"Not on his own maybe." Shere Khan interrupted. "But with a little persuasion…" He trailed off, gesturing to Kaa who was studying the ground.

There was silence and then. "Of all the idiotic things!" Louie shouted.

"Didn' you learn your lesson?"

"I thought we were past all that!"

"And on a friend, too!"

"Not to mention one of the most lethal predators in the jungle!"

"You ought'a be ashamed!"

"How could you-"

"Enough!" Khan roared, putting a stop to the insults.

"Thank you, Sssshere Khan!" Kaa hissed gratefully.

The tiger snorted. "Now doubtless Kaa is an idiotic reptile who is a disgrace to jungle creatures everywhere," Kaa's face took on a glum expression, "but that is not the point. The point is that we need to find Bagheera so that Kaa can reverse the hypnosis before half the jungle is wiped out."

"And before Baghie gets hurt!" Baloo added.

"Right." Shere Khan agreed dismissively. "Now, Louie. Where were you when Bagheera attacked?"

"Well, I was at the old lair but I don't think he'd-"

"RRRRRNNN!" They were interrupted as a loud trumpeting sound rent the jungle. Exchanging glances, they headed towards the river.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch3

By ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own the Jungle Books, the Jungle Book I-2, Jungle Cubs, or any of their characters. Takes place shortly after the Jungle Book I. Quotations in italics.

The four got there to see the herd of elephants lined up and Hathi yelling at one of them. "What have I told you, soldier? A dusty muzzle is a danger to not only you but everyone in this troop! If you go to attack an enemy and it does-"

"What happened, Hath'?" Baloo shouted rushing over to the elephant and looking under and over Hathi to make sure he was alright. "Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine, Baloo!" Hathi exclaimed stepping back. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Ah, Hathi, have you seen Bagheera recently?" Louie asked, leaping onto the pachyderm's back.

"Only this morning but-" Hathi broke off as he caught sight of Shere Khan and Kaa. "What is the meaning of this?" He repeated, his eyes sweeping over his friends. "I don't have time for games any-"  
>"We're not here for games." Shere Khan interrupted, stepping forward.<p>

Quickly, the tiger briefed Hathi on the situation. When Khan was finished, Hathi looked at Kaa and shook his head while tsking. "Foolishness is inexcusable, my friend. You have done this before; a good soldier always remembers his past mistakes so that he may learn from them. "

"Yes, so we've told him." Shere Khan agreed, smirking at a dejected Kaa. "But that's neither here nor there."

"We need to find Baghie!" Baloo put in.

"Yeah," Louie agreed, "before we become his lunch!"

…..

It didn't take long for Hathi to arrange things so that he could help them. He explained the matter to Winifred and told her to lead Hathi Jr. and the troop to their field and to be on the lookout for Bagheera, careful to keep Hathi Jr. in the middle of the troop. After the troop had left, the five friends sat down to talk.

"Kaa," Shere Khan started the conversation, "before we do anything we need to hear exactly what you told Bagheera."

"Umm…I assssked him to get me ssssome food?" Kaa answered, glancing around as if expecting the others to attack him.

"But what were your exact words?" Shere Khan persisted.

"Ssss, let me think…" Kaa pondered. "I told him to bring me ssssomething… big and tassssty!"

"Oh what the… I mean really!" Baloo cursed. "That could be lots of animals!"

"Yeah, Kaa, Bagheera could be anywhere!" Louie exclaimed. "What were you thinking?"

"I wassss hungry!" Kaa protested. "Can't you guyssss jusssst let it go?"

"Let it go?" Hathi snapped. "You have committed an egregious act against a friend! Why back in my day if a soldier-"

"Enough!" Khan snapped. "We can criticize Kaa all we wish later. Now we need to find Bagheera."

"Could have ssssaid it better mysssself!" Kaa added.

Khan rolled his eyes. "Now, the way I see it, Bagheera will start with the animals he's stronger than or at least as strong as and who are big. That means that the deer, the wolves, they hyenas, the jackals, the rhinos, the Bandar-log, the apes, any cats, any bears, and possibly the mugger and the elephants are open game. We've already warned the elephants and it wouldn't be wise to bother the mugger. Baloo, put the word out to Chil and his flock to keep an eye out for Bagheera and to report back to us. Also, have them tell the Bandar-log and the apes to stay high up in the trees and be watchful."

"On it, Khanie!" Baloo smiled and gave the call for Chil to come down. Once the kite was there, the bear gave a quick summary of what had happened. The kite then left with a promise to relay the message to everyone he saw. "Well, that's taken care of!

"But there's still much more ground to cover." Hathi replied shaking his head.

"Right." Khan agreed. "Now, Baloo and Louie, you go check by the wolves and the deer and if Bagheera's not there, warn them. Hathi, you, Kaa, and I will go check by the rhinos, the hyenas and the jackals. If one of us finds Baloo, we'll do our best to incapacitate him, send word to the others, and meet back at the Cub House."

"Sounds good to me!" Louie said.

"Good." The tiger replied. "Now if we don't hear from each other by sunset, we'll meet back at the Cub House anyway."

"Got it, Khanie!" Baloo smiled.

"Couldn't have planned a better strategy myself." Hathi replied proudly.

"Now letssss go sssso we can get back!" Kaa hissed.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch 4

By ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own the Jungle Books, the Jungle Book I-2, Jungle Cubs, or any of their characters. Takes place shortly after the Jungle Book I. Oh, and I don't own the phrase, "We be of one blood you and I", or it's reply, "Even So"; those're Kipling's. Quotations in italics. 

"Isn't this great?" Louie exclaimed, swinging through the tree tops, over Baloo's head. "The gang's altogether again!"  
>"Except for Bagheera." Baloo reminded him.<p>

"Well, we'll find him and then it'll be just like old times!" Louie continued.

"Yeah, I know." Baloo said, "I just hope that we find him before anyone gets hurt." Louie didn't reply, not wanting to think of the possibility that their friend might turn into a killer. "Hey Akela! _We be of one blood ye and I_!" Baloo called out as they neared the wolf pack, relaxing in an open field.

"_Even so!"_ Came the appropriate answer, and the old wolf came to meet him, followed by several others. "Hello my friends. It's a pleasure to see you in our territory again. What brings you to our area of the jungle?"

"Uh…we were wondering if you had seen Bagheera today." Louie asked.

The wolves looked at each other in a puzzled manner. "The panther comes and goes as he pleases." One of them said. "We don't question where he is going."

"Oh, we knows that!" Baloo said. "We were just wondering if he's been 'round today!"

"No, I don't believe he has." The wolf replied.

"Well, you guys need to be careful!" Louie continued. "Bagheera's been attackin' animals left and right!"

"Bagheera?" Akela asked in a shock tone. "But he was ever a friend of us wolves…well except for that one time…" He thought, smiling at the memory. "Surely he wouldn't-"

"Well of course he wouldn't _normally!" _Baloo exclaimed in an exasperated tone. "But that darn snake did his hypno-mumbo-jumbo on him and now Baghie's not going to stop until he brings down some big animal for Kaa's lunch!"

Akela shook his head. "Will that snake never learn?" While the other wolves shifted uneasily.

"That's what we said," Louie replied, "but Shere Khan made us leave him alone!"

"Shere Khan's helping you?" Akela asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yup!" Baloo answered proudly. "Old Stripes ain't so bad after all!"

"Anyway," Louie said, "the point is you need to be careful until we find that wild cat!"

"I could send some of my wolves out to search with you." Akela offered and the other wolves' eyes widened; it was clear that no one relished the chance of coming face to face with a murderous Bagheera.

"That's okay!"Baloo reassured them. "We just want you guys to be careful and if you see Baghie, just try to keep him in the area and let us know, okay?"  
>"Of course." Akela said and the other wolves nodded their agreement. "Good luck" The wolves trotted back to the rest of the pack and Baloo and Louie went off to find the deer pack.<p>

...

Meanwhile, Hathi, Khan, and Kaa were creeping through the jungle towards the rhino glade. "Quiet now, soldiers." Hathi whispered. "Rhinoceros' are highly excitable creatures. We don't want a stampede on our hands. Now, I will approach them first to let them know that we mean them no harm. Once I give the clear, you two can come forward as well, but not a moment before, mind you!"

Shere Khan snorted and turned to Kaa, "He never us-"

"I said quiet!" Hathi hissed. "Why you're lucky I don't give you fifty lashes, speaking against orders in a dangerous situation such as this! Now, quiet..." Hathi trailed off as he stepped through the bushes. Khan kneaded the ground with his claws but didn't say anything and Kaa just smirked. "Attention!" They heard Hathi shout. " I am an ambassador of a grou-"

"Who are you and what do you want?" A voice growled.

"I am an ambassador of a group of animals consisting of a bear, a snake, an orangutan, and a tiger. We have come-"

"Get it over with!"

"Why, I never!" Hathi exclaimed angrily. "There's no need to be rude! We have come to warn you that-"

"Yes?"  
>"Oh, really! If you would just let me finish! I-"<br>"Enough! " The voice shouted. "How dare you come into our clearing and insult us!"

"I'm not-"

"Leave, now before we take further action!"

In the bushes, Khan and Kaa exchange worried yet amused glances. "I think we better go help him." Khan smirked.

"Yesss..." Kaa hissed.

The tiger cleared his throat and stepped out of the bushes to stand next to Hathi. "Hello. What my friend here was trying-"

"TIGER!" The head rhino roared.

"ANOTHER JUNGLE CAT!" Another voice came.

"It'ssss-" Kaa started.

"AND A PYTHON!" Yelled someone. And then all hell broke loose.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch 5

By ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own the Jungle Books, the Jungle Book I-2, Jungle Cubs, or any of their characters. Takes place shortly after the Jungle Book I. Oh, and I don't own the phrase, "We be of one blood you and I", or it's reply, "Even So"; those're Kipling's. Quotations in italics. 

"Oh sssstupid, rhinossss." Kaa hissed. "Why can't they jusssst be like the resssst of us jungle animalssss?"

"It's not in their nature." Hathi shook his head disapprovingly. "Damned excitable and ornery things. " The three of them

"Well, at least it wasn't useless." Shere Khan said, licking his paws.

"What do you mean?" Kaa snapped. "All we got from thosssse rhinossss were bruissssessss!"

Shere Khan scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Before they stampeded the rhinos said "another jungle cat" meaning I wasn't the first one they saw today. Not unusual, but they were alarmed about it meaning one of the previous ones caused some disturbance."

"By golly Shere Khan's right!" Hathi exclaimed. "I should have realized before. I've been in the force for-"

"The best bet would be to walk around the rhino glade and see if we can find any paw prints. The rhinos won't be back for quite a while. As long as we're careful not to go wherever they went we should be fine."

"Capital idea!" The Colonel answered approvingly. "My troop could use soldiers like you."

Kaa shook his head. "I don't know. What if the rhinossss come back early? Maybe we sssshould jusssst give up." He turned to leave but Hathi scooped him up.

"Oh, no, you infernal invertebrate!" The elephant gave him a small shake. "You need to take responsibility for your actions!"

Khan snorted. "That's right. If we have to look for Bagheera you do too!" He looked up at Hathi. "Better carry him just in case."

"What...I don't...Put me down!" Kaa exclaimed.

"No, Kaa." Khan chuckled. "We know you too well for that."

"But I promise I won't-"

"Hush!" Hathi scolded. "That's enough out of you." Ignoring Kaa's protests, Hathi and Khan headed back towards the elephant glade.

...

Baloo and Louie had been looking for the herd of deer for what seemed like five moons. "Oh, Lou!" The bear sighed. "I'm getting too old for this typa'walkin'!"

"Tell me about it." Louie let go of the branch he was swinging on and dropped to the ground next to Baloo.

"I mean where're all the-" Baloo was cut off as the ground started to shake and the herd of deer burst out of the bushes, running straight towards them.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch6

By ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own the Jungle Books, the Jungle Book I-2, Jungle Cubs, or any of their characters. Takes place shortly after the Jungle Book I. Oh, and I don't own the phrase, "We be of one blood you and I", or it's reply, "Even So"; those're Kipling's. Quotations in italics. 

"What the-" Louie leapt up into a tree as a deer nearly pounded him into the ground. "GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

Baloo threw himself headfirst, into the bushes to the left. "Slow down, folks!" He shouted. "What's the rush?" None of the deer paid him heed.

"Baghie!" The orangutan cried out pointing towards the bushes.

Baloo turned to see that their friend was indeed dashing out after the herd with relentless determination. "Bagheera!" The bear gave chase to his friend.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Louie snapped, swinging through the trees after them.

…..

Hathi, Kaa, and Shere Khan were making their way through the rhino glade when the ground started shaking under them.

"Do you hear ssssomething?" Kaa hissed.

"Oh, I hope it's not those damn rhinos again!" Hathi groaned.

"No," Shere Kahn began, tilting his head to the side, "this is something lighter and-" He didn't have time to finish as the herd of deer burst into the clearing. Quickly, the tiger snatched Kaa up onto his back and dove out of the way, followed seconds later by Hathi.

"HEY BAGHIE! WAIT UP!" Baloo's voice followed the deer, and sure enough, a black blur darted into the clearing, their friends in pursuit.

"Stand by, Kaa." Shere Khan growled, and bounded out after the herd.

"Me?" Kaa squealed. "What am I sssssupposssssed to do?"

The tiger didn't answer; he had crouched down on one of the deer's back and taking aim, pounced onto the panther. As a result, Bagheera turned on Khan, his new source of food for the master. In less than a second the cats were rolling around on the backs of the herd.

"Baghie!" Baloo cried out as Bagheera landed a swipe on Shere Khan. "Don't hurt Khanie!" The bear leaped forward and tried to haul Bagheera off the tiger.

The distraction was all Shere Khan needed to turn the fight around. Tackling, Bagheera, he moved them both off of the deer herd and onto the far more stable ground. "KAA!" He cried out. "NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME!"

"O-oh… I don't th-think it would b-be a good-" The snake was cut off by Hathi scooping Kaa up with his trunk.

"You got us into this mess, soldier!" The elephant snapped. "If there're any risks, you'll have to take them!" He placed the snake down two yards from the fight. "Now stop him."

Kaa coughed, clearing his throat. "Uh, Bagheera?"  
>Instantly, the panther stopped fighting and tilted his head back to look at Kaa. "Yes, Master?" He intoned.<p>

"Uh, I w-want you to ssssstop fighting with SSSSShere Khan and uh, sssssnap out of it alright? You don't need to do what I tell you anymore."

The panther kept staring at him, then his head drooped and his eyes closed. "Bagheera?" Shere Khan asked in a concerned tone.

Bagheera gave a moan and shook his head. "W-what?" Khan smiled and got off of his friend. The panther opened his eyes. "What are you all-" Realization hit him. "KAA!" He snarled.

"Don't be too harsh on the old fellow." Shere Khan smirked, picking at his nails, and Kaa sent him a grateful look. "After all, I have something worse than anything you could say planned for him."

Kaa gulped and started to inch away. "Uh…well it wasssss niccccce ssssseeing everyone again but-"

"Where do you think you're going?" Louie sneered, blocking Kaa's path.

"Yeah." Baloo chuckled. "The party's just started!"

…

An hour later, they were all back in the old Cub House. Baloo reclining under the shade of a large mango tree with Louie perched on his stomach. Hathi was hosing himself off with the water from the well, and the two cats were stretched out on the stone, enjoying the warmth from the remaining rays of sun.

"Oh, Kaa!" Shere Khan called. "Bring me another mouse."

"I'd like one, too!" Bagheera murmured.

"And after that," Baloo added, "get me a stick of termites."

"And me a bunch of bananas!" Louie cried.

The elephant spared Kaa a glance. " A mound of grass would be nice."

"Hasssssn't anyone ever heard of the word, 'Pleassssse'?" Kaa mumbled.

"You're welcome." Khan purred.


End file.
